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NEWS
Hemingway’s Wheeler 38 relaunched
The most famous fishing boat of all time recreated by naval architectsErnest Hemingway’s famous Pilar, a Wheeler 38, will be recreated from the original plans and order and released as a production boat by America’s revered Bill Prince Yacht Design.
When Hemingway was ready to order his first and only fishing yacht at the age of 35, he entrusted the Wheeler Shipyards to build it.
‘Papa’, as he was affectionately known, demanded quality in craftsmanship and Wheeler was the logical place to turn at the time.
WHEELER BOATS
For 50 years, the Wheeler Family – father and five sons – built yachts of the highest quality.
From 1910 through two world wars and well into peacetime, Wheeler built over 3200 pleasure boats and more than 800 military craft which earned them eight Navy ‘E’ awards for service to the United States.
The Wheelers built their boats with only the finest materials available at the time. They were handcrafted and built to last. It was this reputation for quality that drew Hemingway to Wheeler in 1934.
His famous boat and its legacy have inspired an exact copy of the original Wheeler Playmate which Hemingway loved so much. The boat will have the classic look of the original, but will conform to today’s ABS and US Coast Guard standards with modern equipment.
THE WHEELER 38
The founding father of sportsfishing, Hemingway was an early adopter of outriggers and the flybridge (a latter adaption to this boat). Bill Prince Yacht Design worked off Hemingway’s original order for a twin-cabin 38 cruiser.
That original order specified such things as:
>> Four 284 litre ‘gas’ [diesel] tanks
? >> A four-cylinder independent trolling motor?
>> Two copper-lined infloor fishboxes
?>> A fully plumbed livewell
>> A stepped sheerline in the cockpit
?>> Cockpit roller to assist boating big fish?
>> Opposing saloon settees?
>> Black painted hull ?
>> Boat to be named Pilar (the nickname of his wife) of Key West and shipped insured and afloat in Florida for the sum of $7495.
A SPORTSFISHER IS BORN
After it was launched, Hemingway’s Pilar not only out-fished and out-performed all of the other fishing yachts of the time, but in the 30 years Hemingway owned her, she had survived four hurricanes by riding them out at sea.
This was testament to the ship’s strength and the captain’s courage. She was also eminently fishable in a way not seen before.
In 1935, Hemingway won every tournament in the Key West-Havana-Bimini triangle, competing against notable sportsman Michael Lerner and Kip Farrington. In 1938, he established a world record by catching seven marlin in one day He also landed the first giant tuna in an undamaged state, making it to his boat's decks in quick time before the sharks moved in. This was no mean feat.
RE-ENGINEERING FEAT
Bill Prince Yacht Design says every inch of the new Pilar has been reverse-engineered to the highest standards, employing sophisticated techniques used in the development of the world’s finest custom yachts.
Power comes in the form of twin Cummins QSB 6.7-litre diesels for 23 knots cruise at 2600rpm and a 400nm range. There’s an Onan generator, sleeping for four to six, and a wonderful old-world charm and ambience below decks that captures the romance of the Hemingway era of sportsfishing.
Bill Prince Yacht Design has released the ‘new’ Wheeler-Pilar 38 and you can own one and be a part of history if you’re smitten. Contact details below.
At-A-Glance
Wheeler 38 Pilar
LOA: 39ft 4 ¾in
LWL: 38ft 9in
Beam: 12ft
Draft: 2ft 10in
Power: Cummins QSB 6.7-litre diesels with ZF 220A
Speed: 23 knots at 2600rpm
Range: 400nm
Sleeping: 4-6
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Written byBoatsales Staff
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